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The conflict in Libya has raised several questions about the Libyan opposition - Who is leading the movement? What are their goals? What are the opportunities and risks for U.S. policy in engaging the opposition leaders?

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion with Ali Aujali, the official representative to the United States of the Transitional National Council of the Libyan Republic. After a brief presentation, Ali Aujali will answer questions about the role of the Transitional National Council and its plans for the future.

No doubt, historians will still be arguing about the achievements and failures of the Obama administration well into the next century. But as President Obama has moved into his third year in the White House, the Center for American Progress and the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University are hosting a symposium to review the president's first two years—what was accomplished, what was left undone, and what problems emerged that may influence events in the remainder of this term and the president's prospect for a second term.

Much of the discussion will focus on analysis provided by a recently published book, Obama in Office, edited by Professor James Thurber of American University and contributed to by Senior Fellow Scott Lilly of the Center for American Progress.

Copies of Obama in Office will be available for purchase at the event.

Too often, immigrants, Muslim Americans, gays and lesbians, African Americans, Arab Americans, and others are portrayed as alien and dangerous to our democracy and society. Such bombasts inflame a toxic political environment and thwart pragmatic policy solutions. The assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords jarred the country, forcing public officials to commit to more comity across political party lines. Yet a return to their legislative arenas reminded them that past attempts at civility failed because compromising on contentious issues is seen as political weakness rather than a statesmanly reach for solutions. Notwithstanding calls for more civilized public discourse, Kansas State Rep. Virgil Peck suggested that hunters could control illegal immigration as they control wild swine—by shooting them from helicopters. In Orange County, CA, councilwoman Deborah Pauly called a fundraiser of the Islamic Circle of North America “pure, unadulterated evil,” adding, “I know quite a few Marines who will be willing to help these terrorists to an early meeting in Paradise.”

Five years ago, the commonwealth of Massachusetts passed An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care, groundbreaking legislation which became a model for the 2010 national health care reform bill. While national health care reform is not to be fully implemented until 2014, we can learn from the Massachusetts experience that has resulted in 98 percent of residents with coverage and 76 percent of employers offering health insurance.

Please join the Center for American Progress as we welcome Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. He will reflect on the lessons from the state’s experience in expanding coverage and current efforts to address health care costs. His remarks will be followed by a panel representing members of the Massachusetts business community and the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation which monitors the state budget.

More than three months into the popular uprisings in the Middle East, the Obama administration faces a complicated balancing act in supporting human rights and democracy along with managing its strategic security interests. How well is the United States doing in responding to the popular uprisings and turmoil in the Middle East? What are the risks and opportunities presented by the intervention in Libya? And how are events likely to unfold in the Middle East in the coming months and years?

Join us for a discussion of these questions with Tom Malinowski, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, and Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow and Middle East expert at CAP.

In tight fiscal times, resource allocation is frequently a challenge for districts and states. Human capital resources can be stretched as schools try to meet state requirements for teacher qualifications and class sizes. At the same time, fiscal constraints can also present opportunities to reimagine new ways of human capital allocation.

The popular uprisings in the Middle East have brought the question of political Islam to the center stage of America’s policy debate. How do Islamist thinkers view the political transitions underway in Egypt and Tunisia, and what are they saying about the turmoil in places such as Libya and Yemen? What role will Islamist political groups play in countries opening up to democratic reforms, and what are the implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East.

As the second event in the Center for American Progress's monthly series of discussions on issues related to the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this event will have two related yet distinctive focuses. The first panel will focus on U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. The second, co-sponsored with the Century Foundation, will explore the viability of a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan.

Millions of people remain out of work, underpaid, and burdened by debt and diminishing economic opportunities. Yet the political class from Madison to Washington continues to debate forced austerity measures that will sharply impact working families and the poor. An economic crisis that originated in the misdeeds of the financial sector has turned into a conservative assault on government, unions, the social safety net, and public investments created by progressives in the 20th century.

With the battle lines sharpening between Rep. Paul Ryan and President Barack Obama over how best to address the nation's budget deficits, how do progressives ensure their priorities are met in these fights? What do state-level budget fights, especially in terms of the role of labor, tell us about the best way to mobilize to meet the conservative assault?  What would a truly progressive approach to deficit reduction look like? What about the critical need for employment measures and long-term investments in our economy and people?

Join us for an important discussion of our nation's economic priorities with Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute.

In 1970, 18 out of every 100,000 workers were killed on the job—a total of nearly 14,000 dead. That same year, President Richard Nixon signed legislation creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

As OSHA celebrates its 40th birthday this month, we also celebrate safer and healthier workplaces. Workplace fatality, injury, and illness rates are down more than 65 percent since 1970, thanks in large part to OSHA's efforts.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a conversation about the agency's past and future. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, will talk with workers about changes they have seen on the ground. He will also talk with experts from labor and business about OSHA’s latest policies and actions.

As America inches its way out of the Great Recession and looks forward into the future, the need for a new policy framework to guide our economic growth is clear.

Join the Center for American Progress and PolicyLink as we bring together some of the nation’s top economists, policy analysts, and thought leaders to discuss the relationship between economic inclusion, long-term economic growth and competitiveness, and policy changes that can create an economy that works for all Americans.

Tony & Janina's American Wedding is a feature-length documentary that gets to the heart of the broken, red-tape-ridden U.S. immigration system. After 18 years in America, Tony and Janina Wasilewski's family is torn apart when Janina is deported back to Poland, taking their 6-year-old son Brian with her. Set on the backdrop of Chicago, and featuring Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez , a leading champion of immigration reform, this film follows the Wasilewski's three-year struggle to be reunited. With a fresh perspective on the immigration conversation, this film tells the untold story of post-9/11 America and the obstacles that many immigrant face in their struggle to move from newcomer to new American.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a provocative Q&A immediately following the film.

Foreign policy analysts in think tanks and academics in universities have long debated "American exceptionalism," but the term is now emerging in America’s political debates, most recently among some conservative critics of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. What does the phrase “American exceptionalism” actually mean? How do ideas about America’s special role in the world shape foreign policy decisions on a range of current issues including the Middle East uprisings, relationships with emerging powers, climate change, and global economic policy? And how might the American exceptionalism debate play out in the 2012 presidential elections?

Please join the Center for American Progress for an in-depth panel to discuss these questions.

The growth of Islamophobia and rising hate rhetoric aimed at ethnic minorities and immigrant communities has become a significant feature of right-wing politics in both Europe and North America. This new politics of hate and fear represents a concerted political strategy on the part of a new right, one which presents a significant challenge to those wishing to create prosperous, tolerant, and diverse societies. It cannot remain unchecked.

The Center for American Progress, in cooperation with Searchlight, will host a transatlantic conversation on the rise of identity politics and its consequences for the future of progressive politics. Bringing together leading analysts and activists from either side of the Atlantic to discuss how best to approach the rise of ultranationalist groups, the conversation will evaluate why Islamophobia and hate rhetoric are on the rise in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the panel will share lessons from their own experiences on the most successful tactics for combating the politics of hate and fear.

The Center for American Progress is pleased to welcome Atul Gawande—surgeon, professor, researcher, and prize-winning author—to offer his always-provocative perspective on health care costs.

Dr. Gawande served as a senior health policy advisor in the Clinton presidential campaign and White House from 1992 to 1993. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine since 1998. In 2006 Dr. Gawande received a MacArthur Award for his research and writing. He has written three New York Times bestselling books: Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002 and is published in more than 20 languages; Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance was selected as one of the 10 best books of 2007 by Amazon.com; and The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right was selected as one of the best books of 2009 by Amazon.com. In 2010 he won a National Magazine Award, AcademyHealth’s Impact Award for highest research impact on health care, and selection by Foreign Policy Magazine and TIME magazine as one of the world’s top 100 influential thinkers.